Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Title: Shiver

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

Genre: Paranormal, Romance

Publication Date: August, 2009

hardcover, 392 pages

For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf - her wolf - is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human ... until the cold makes him shift back again.

Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human-or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

-Summary from Goodreads

Now Before I start rambling, (kidding!) I must point out the blue font in the book. Sadly, I don't think library copies have the blue font. But anyways, it's so awesome! Definitely a cool first fad for books that I hope will continue.

I was enthralled into Shiver from the first page. The beginning was intense and mesmerizing. I instantly fell for the silent connection between Grace as a human and Sam as a wolf. The way they fell for each other was so captivating - Grace's bond to him was through his powerful yellow eyes. I came to love the two as much as they loved each other. I love how the point of view switches between them; I got a double dose of the story and must I not forget to mention the passion between Grace and Sam.

Maggie Stiefvater's inventiveness was definitely an A+ when it came to the werewolves. Their relation to temperature, how they shift into werewolves when it's cold and shift into humans when it's hot is the best reasoning behind werewolves that I have ever read so far in a book with them. In addition to the temperature, I am partial to how each chapter started with the temperature of the setting. That sometimes led to foreshadowing about what would happen in the chapter, *hint Sams shifting hint* and/or the conflicts and problems that would happen because they are related to wolves and the temperature of the moment.

The whole book was extremely well written. The meeting point of Sam and Grace, when Sam gets shot was terribly fervid, and at that point adrenaline rushed through my body with fear. I will admit that their relationship after meeting was a bit rush, but I disregarded that thought and accepted it because, after all, they had "known" or at least had a silent longing for each other for six years. One of the final scenes with them in Grace's car, on a cold cold night penetrated my heart. It was so emotional, so powerful, so intense. After reading the page all I could do was sit still, frozen, close the book and stare into space in shock and awe.

No character was underdeveloped, and I have to point out Sam in particular. He is humorous, witty, adorable and talented. But at the same time, he is not the perfect boy. Perfect boy books bother me so much because there rarely is such a thing. I am fond of how Sam loves poetry and music. whenever he related a situation he was in with lyrics, the lyrics he sang or thought of were beautiful and always flowed well with the moment.

Grace's friends Rachel, Olivia and Isabel were great support - Olivia's photography in the woods and her absence in existence added the perfect amount to the suspense of the story. Werewolves Jack and Shelby's pain and love for who they truly were kept the storyline moving at a heart-racing pace. The ending, which I can't explain for fear of spoiling, was bewildering, striking, and magnificent. Shiver now has my highest rating of a paranormal book, and I do expect this one to stay at the top of my charts for a long, long time. Maggie Stiefvater did an exceptional job pulling off paranormal, and her story certainly won my heart.

4.5 Beasts